


Take My Hand (Hold It Tight)

by ShowMeAHero



Category: Marvel
Genre: Birthday, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Humor, Light Angst, M/M, Romance, Surprise Party
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-07
Updated: 2015-07-07
Packaged: 2018-04-08 05:10:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,404
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4291962
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShowMeAHero/pseuds/ShowMeAHero
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Birthdays aren't always easy, but they'd be a hell of a lot easier if Bucky would pick up his damn phone.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Take My Hand (Hold It Tight)

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Lauryn on her birthday; she asked for: "angsty annoyed birthday fic with my fav bi super soldier and his tired boyfriend but I’m also feeling love and cute and idk feel free to shoehorn Matt and foggy in." Her wish is, of course, my command. Happy 20th, babe.
> 
> Title taken from ["You'll Be In My Heart"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=git6DCXSqjE), by Phil Collins.

Bucky ripped the blankets off of Steve _far_ too early for his liking - according to the clock, it was only 8:00. Typically, Steve was a fairly early riser, but the two of them had been up until close to three in the morning. Steve grabbed at the blankets, dragging Bucky back towards the bed.

“Come on, Stevie, time to get up,” Bucky ordered, seconds before Steve released the blanket and Bucky went head-over-heels onto the bed, landing mostly on Steve’s thighs. He adjusted his position until he was seated over Steve’s waist. “Get up.”

“No.”

“Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise,” Bucky urged, leaning down to press his nose to the space under Steve’s ear.

“We _weren’t_ early to bed, you ass,” Steve complained into his pillow, his voice muffled. Bucky nipped at Steve’s throat. “Get _off.”_

“Steve-”

Steve shifted upwards in one smooth, quick motion, throwing Bucky to the ground. They stared at each other for a second, Bucky staring up, incredulous, from the floor, Steve peeking out through a hole in the blankets he had pulled up past his head. Bucky launched himself back up, wrestling Steve into a headlock while Steve laughed and half-heartedly fought back. He managed to pin Bucky on his back against the mattress, the two of them catching their breath.

“You awake?” Bucky asked, and Steve left Bucky’s body to burrow back in his blankets.

“Nope,” Steve answered, shoving a pillow over his head. Bucky shrugged and left the bed.

“Suit yourself. I’ll be back,” Bucky informed him, kissing Steve’s forehead. Steve offered a hum and a barely-awake wave before he was asleep again.

When Steve woke up the second time, it was nearing noon. He lifted his head, scratching a hand through his bed-head hair. He was surprised to see how late it had gotten, but he dragged himself out of bed nonetheless.

“Bucky?” Steve called. Bucky’s phone, wallet, and keys were gone off the counter, and there was half a pot of cold coffee on the island in the kitchen. Steve frowned and grabbed his own phone, pressing the first button on his speed dial. The phone rang for a fairly long time before it went to voicemail. Steve hit the button to call a second time as he went about heating up his coffee. The phone rang continuously before clicking through to voicemail again.

“Goddamnit, Buck,” Steve grumbled, hitting _call_ a third time as he sipped at his black coffee. “Answer your damn phone.” The call went to voicemail again. Steve threw back the rest of his coffee in two swallows and went to tug on his jeans and a t-shirt. He had to scavenge for his sneakers after he had kicked them off last night, but, once he had them on and laced, he was grabbing his own phone, wallet, and keys and booking it out the door.

“JARVIS, give me a ring if Bucky comes home,” Steve instructed, taking the elevator down to the ground level of Avengers Tower. JARVIS seemed to hesitate for a second.

“Yes, sir,” JARVIS answered, only a second later than he might usually, but Steve ignored him. He was, technically, just a robot.

Steve jogged out of Avengers Tower, looking left and right before deciding to head in the direction Bucky used to take when he wandered off, back when he had first returned to Steve. He spent hours searching for Bucky, calling him every fifteen minutes, just in case. It went to voicemail every time.

By the time it was 4:00 in the afternoon, Steve had searched every place in the city that he could think of. He called again, Bucky didn’t answer _again,_ and so Steve started heading back towards the Tower with the intent of getting a couple of the team together to start a wider search. He took the elevator up past his floor to the main floor, fear and worry bubbling under his skin like a nasty burn. When he stepped out on the main floor up at the top, all of the lights were off. He frowned.

“JARVIS, can you turn the lights on for me, please?” Steve asked as the elevator doors slid shut behind him. The lights flickered on all at once, revealing a whole host of people yelling _“Surprise!”_ right in his face. He slammed backwards into the closed elevator doors, one hand pressed over his pounding heart.

“Holy shit,” Steve breathed, shutting his eyes for a second as he tried to catch his breath and calm himself down. A hand on his arm made him open his eyes again.

“You okay?” Bucky asked, and Steve punched him in the shoulder.

“Where the hell have you been all day? I’ve been looking for you for _hours,”_ Steve scolded, still trying to get his heartbeat under control. “I thought you got lost or left or-”

“Calm down,” Bucky murmured. He turned and said something to the rest of the people gathered, but Steve couldn’t make out whatever he said over the pounding of his pulse in his ears. Bucky grabbed him by the elbow and steered him over to a chair to sit down. “What happened?”

“I kept calling you but you didn’t pick up so I’ve been looking for you for hours and I couldn’t find you and I thought-” Steve stopped, shook his head, swallowed. “Why didn’t you pick up your phone?”

“I don’t have my phone, I left it on the nightstand,” Bucky told him, rubbing his hand over Steve’s arm over and over, trying to soothe him. “It’s okay. I assumed you would just come up here when you saw I wasn’t there. I thought you knew about the party, to be honest. You usually do.”

“My birthday’s _tomorrow,”_ Steve reminded him urgently, and Bucky grinned.

“That’s why it’s a surprise,” Bucky told him. Steve groaned and dropped his head into his hands.

“I hate you,” Steve mumbled into his palms. Bucky kissed his temple.

“I’m really sorry I scared you, baby,” Bucky murmured into his skin.

“I’m chipping you with Bluetooth,” Steve grumbled, visibly annoyed. Bucky laughed against his temple. “I’m not joking, Buck. I’m not gonna lose you again.”

“Calm down.” Bucky kissed Steve’s forehead, then leaned down to kiss his mouth. “I love you. I’m not going anywhere. Now, enjoy your party, won’t you?”

“I’m still mad at you,” Steve shot at him as Bucky took his hand and helped him to his feet. Steve squeezed his hand and let Bucky drag him around to talk to people.

“Should’ve told them your heartbeat was a little off, but I thought you had just been running,” Matt Murdock said, shaking Steve’s hand and smiling. “Sorry about that. Didn’t mean to scare you.”

“Matt’s just naturally terrifying,” the blonde at Matt Murdock’s side commented - _Foggy Nelson,_ Steve’s brain helpfully supplied. “He doesn’t think about it anymore.” Matt Murdock slapped the back of Foggy Nelson’s head before the both of them got dragged off somewhere by Natasha. Tony and Sam came over just as Thor appeared with Asgardian mead for himself and Steve.

“Sorry we scared you, Steve, I might’ve figured you wouldn’t like to be startled,” Sam said, taking a sip of whatever unholy concoction Pietro had thrown together for him at the bar. Bucky’s arm around Steve’s waist was a heavy weight, a pleasant distraction from the fear and concern still sticking thick to the back of his throat.

“It’s fine,” Steve assured him, accepting the tumbler of mead from Thor. “Besides, who doesn’t love a good party, right?”

“Right,” Tony agreed, holding up a glass of what appeared to be water. “Happy birthday, Captain Obvious.”

“Cheers,” Steve replied, lifting his tumbler before throwing it back. Bucky grinned and slid in a little closer to Steve.

“What are you, a hundred?” Bucky murmured near his ear. Steve rolled his shoulders as Thor filled his glass again.

“Close,” Steve answered. “Ninety-seven. Almost there.”

“Pretty good for a guy who wasn’t supposed to live past age two.” Bucky kissed Steve’s cheek. “Sorry I scared you.”

“Thanks for the party,” Steve replied, turning his head to capture Bucky’s lips before he moved away. Bucky smiled against his mouth.

“I’ll give you an early birthday present tonight if you want,” Bucky said softly. The two of them ignored Tony’s indignant cry of, “We have _ears,_ you know!”

 

**Author's Note:**

> You can follow me on Twitter at [@nicoIodeon](https://twitter.com/nicoIodeon) or on Tumblr at [andillwriteyouatragedy](http://andillwriteyouatragedy.tumblr.com/).


End file.
